"People are interested in growing their own gardens, and in the past, we had between 40 and 50 gardens tilled for this purpose," Christopherson says.

...

John Christopherson, program manager for the Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe Health and Fitness Center's diabetes grant program, says there are some confusing aspects of the traditional diet.

"Fry bread is really not a traditional food, but it has been seen as one over the last three or four decades," Christopherson says.

...

But now, Christopherson says, the use of the supplemental food must mesh with the use of native foods.
"Since so many use them, we need to get an idea of which ones are liked and make efforts to get better food," he says.

...

Christopherson says the center where he works has changed its name from diabetes center to health and fitness center.
"It's not just for people with diabetes," he says.

...

Christopherson is planning classes on food preparation at the center, where hands-on learning could help with his idea of combining the present food available with traditional food.
"We need to make improvements, but if you hand someone a piece of paper, it does much less good than actually showing them how to prepare food," he says.